


A Song For The Gallows (Harlock [MC] x Julian ANGST)

by DeathsIdiot



Series: Death's Idiot's Arcana Fic Collection [1]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: #A WHOLE LOT OF TEARS, #Bad Dreams, #Bad Memories, #Brief Breathing Exercises, #DESCRIPTIONS OF HANGING, #I JUST WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY, #Julian's Execution, #Last Moments, #Lotsa Tears & Cuddlin', #ONE SHIRTLESS MAN, #Recurring Nightmares, #SWEARING (OBVIOUSLY...), #Supportive Boyfriend, #Trauma, #WHY AM I SUCH A MEANIE?, #death, #established relationship, #flashback, #nightmare, #sleepy Cuddles, Based On A True Story (From The Game), I Am The Fuck Up Please Hold Me, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 04:25:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17953568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathsIdiot/pseuds/DeathsIdiot
Summary: ♠ Synopsis: Harlock awakes in the dead of night from a haunting memory they wish they could forget.♠ Author’s Note: So note to self… DON’t listen to The Hanging Tree and think about Julian. Because otherwise you start crying, can’t focus on cutesy silly fluffy shit and you just end up writing a buttload of ANGST. Also, I’ve been wandering down Angsty McBoulevard regarding a lot of Harlock’s deep backstory and ah… Yeah. I’m a bad person. I’m sorry. More to come later ^^’‘Reposted from my Arcana side blog on Tumblr @DeathLookedUponThisIdiotTW: #Descriptions of Hanging / #Death / #A Whole Lot Of Tears / #One Shirtless Man / #Swearing, ObviouslyWARNING: SPOILERS* FOR THE FINAL SCENE OF BOOK XII: CHAPTER 2 - “WHEN TO FOLD”*Written according to the storyline post-Sun Update





	A Song For The Gallows (Harlock [MC] x Julian ANGST)

The crowd was all bodies and noise. Faces familiar and new.

All of Vesuvia stood in place, an oppressive aura of dread hovering between every man woman and child.

Harlock was in the thick of it. Heart beating wildly as what was to come seemed to loom like a dark cloud over them.

They knew what was to happen. They knew what had to happen.

There was no other way.

They bit back tears as they pushed closer within view of Portia and Mazelinka. The gallows before them was like a wooden monolith. Smaller in reality than it felt to them in the swarm.

There were shouts and cries of joy and anger and dread as the morbid stage held its presence. Nadia stood above the masses on the platform with the courtiers at her side, grinning with malice as the man of the hour took to the stage, escorted by Ludovico and Bludmila.

Harlock tried desperately to move closer but the way to the front was blocked by several burly citizens. Elbows jabbed into their ribs as they pushed forwards only to see him standing there above.

He shouldn’t be up there. He should never have taken this burden upon himself. All he had to do was tell the truth…

He was innocent.

They knew he was.

They all knew he was.

Even he knew he was.

And yet… The bastard couldn’t see what he was really doing, dying for answers with only the faintest hope that he would wake again.

His hands were free of any chains as he stood there, his auburn hair fluttering in the breeze and striking a stark contrast to the blazing blue skies.

The rope noose swayed ominously behind him as the crowd went silent.

“Doctor Devorak…” Nadia’s powerful yet clearly concerned voice cut through the air like a saber.

“Any last words?

There was a grin on his face as he turned to the crowd. They weren’t close enough to see the look in his eyes at this distance but they could hear the cockiness, the arrogance in his voice.

“So here I am, Vesuvia! Finally facing justice after all these years.”

They bit their lip. Bastard. Utter bastard. Playing off the crowd whilst they were ready to bawl their eyes out.

A raging response from the crowd suffocated them in hatred.

“Murderer!”

“Coward!”

He flung his arms wide, his coat dropping so he was bare in his cotton shirt. He was letting them boo him. Inviting the jeers and torment. It was everything he had directed at himself for years and now the whole of Vesuvia was acting as his own self-hatred.

If only he could see them…

See how they were ripping their heart to shreds with their actions…

“Condemn me if you like… But first!”

He began to along the edge of the platform. Ludo nervously moved to stop him but the Countess held him back.

This was all part of the plan.

“Answer me this…” He held a contemplative finger to the sky before gesturing across a wide swathe of the audience.

“Who among you can say you miss the Count… And not just his parties?”

The audience quietened down, murmurs of discussion and vague agreement passing through the crowd as Harlock desperately tried to push closer.

They had to get closer.

He had to see they were there.

What he was doing to them by pulling this stupid fucking martyrdom act

He gestured again with an extended hand to the other half of the crowd.

“What did he do for the sick and dying?”

The cockiness was dropping, the tone of a valiant freedom fighter taking its place. He was rallying the troops from the stage of his imminent death.

He knew.

He fucking knew and he knew that if he was going to die today he wasn’t leaving without making a statement that would rile up the crowds.

Yells of “Nothing!”, “Fuck All!” and “He Killed My Children!” shot through the crowd. Several yells sounded like the familiar voices of Rowdy Raven patrons, others the distinct tones of Market folk.

“When did help come for the Flooded District?”

An uproarious yell of a particular area of the crowd rose up in outrage.

“Never!” “Left Us For Dead!” “He Deserved To Burn For That!”

Nadia’s eyes widened at the spectacle, seeing the true contempt this city had held for her husband. If only she’d known… If only she could’ve helped…

Julian continued on, a passion in his soon to be crushed throat as he wildly gestured with a fury. Venom and rage dripped from his words, further incensing the crowds

“He was a plague on this city! A frivolous Count who threw lavish parties while Vesuvia withered!”

Fists were raised in the air, cheers and hollers from the crowd deafening Harlock as they struggled closer. They felt like they were being crushed as they tried to push their way to him.

They. Had. To. Get. Closer.

He raised a hand to the sky, another over his heart.

“So don’t think too unkindly of me, dear Vesuvia. I did it all for you.”

He smiled as he held his hand out to the crowd as he backed up towards the noose, the trapdoor floorboards creaking underfoot.

“… And I don’t regret a thing.”

He held his head high, voice projecting to the far side of the town square.

“History Will Vindicate Me!”

He bowed low with a dramatic flourish before standing up straight, nodding to Nadia who indicated for the executioner to place the noose.

No.

Just no.

The rope was being tightened around his neck, hands bound behind his back and his feet together at the ankles as storm grey eyes hit witch-hazel green.

Utter emotional distress met his true fear hidden by calm resignation. It shouldn’t have had to end like this…

Harlock’s gaze held with his as a thousand unspoken words passed between them. A tear fell down their cheek and they felt like they were gonna vomit any minute. He took a deep breath in before mouthing one last “I Love You”, grief at what his actions were bringing clearly written on his tortured face.

At that moment, it was just them. The condemned man and the idiot who fell in love with him. Harlock bit their lip and swallowed as they held out a desperate hand to him, barely in reach of the gallows, let alone their love.

“Julian…” They sobbed. They were sobbing, grieving a man not yet dead. Their heart was shattering into pieces as the executioner finished his preparations.

He had to survive this.

He had to or an innocent man would be killed within the minute.

There were nods shared between Nadia and the executioner.

And the lever was pulled. The floor fell away beneath him like a gateway to hell.

There was a sickening crack as the rope pulled taut around his throat.

And then they screamed.

—

“NO!”

Harlock bolted upright, covered in sweat and shaking. If their heart could explode, it felt like it was going to any minute.

“Darling? Darling! Harlock, what’s wrong?!”

They barely registered the hands on their arms as each breath burned their lungs and throat. They turned with damp eyes to see him, shirtless beside them as he gazed into their eyes.

Harlock, upon recognising his stupid face, just pulled him into the tightest fucking hug they could and just sobbed into his shoulder until tears were streaming over his back and shoulder.

“Woah, hey… Love, it’s… It’s alright… Darling, what’s wrong? You were… You were mumbling in your sleep again. Did you have another nightmare?”

Strong hands gently brushed over their shoulders with his nose in their hair. Harlock could barely respond, only nod furiously and bawl into his shoulder as they softly cooed sweet nothings to them.

“There there, darling… I’m here… I’m always going to be here… You’re safe, love… No one’s going to harm you…”

They coughed and sniffed, their face a damp mess as they curled their head around under his chin. Steadily, helped lay them back down and the hyperventilating slowed down.

“Breathe with me, Harlock. In… and out… It’s just me and you… Shhh…”

He cuddled them closer as they stared into oblivion. They could hear him but their mind was still replaying the execution on loop. It had been barely a week since and Julian had been staying with them during the frequently disturbed nights.

Sometimes, it was visions of the Devil. Others it was of Count Lucio in his monstrous goat form, chasing them for their body.

But the one that haunted them the most… Was seeing Julian’s lifeless eyes and gaping mouth as he dangled from the noose. They’d seen the last flicker of light when the rope had pulled tight. They’d heard the deafening crack before he was pronounced dead and cut down, only to be dragged away by Valdemar to that fucking torture chamber.

They’d seen him die.

They had to live with the traumatizing knowledge of what the love of their life looked like after a short drop and a sudden stop.

They would have given literally anything to have been up there with him instead of in the crowds below. They didn’t care if it would have been for a last goodbye kiss or to put a noose around their own throat and die alongside him in solidarity…

Just anything but that fucking memory.

“Darling…?”

They looked up like a scared rabbit, Julian’s kind eyes gleamed down at them as his hand stroked their upper arm slowly before pulling up the silk duvet over their shoulder to save them from the chill of the night breeze.

“I-I’m sorry, Juli…”

He looked bewildered at their response.

“Sorry? What on earth are you sorry about? You had a nightmare… It’s not your fault.”

He lowered his brow as he searches their face in the moonlight for an answer.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, its okay… But if there is anything bothering you, I-”

“Julian”

He stopped, a hand drifting over their cheek to wipe away the tear marks.

“Yes, love?”

“Promise me… Promise me I’m never going to have to see you die like that ever again?”

There was a pause of disbelief as Julian blinked in the dim light like a blinded man. “I…”

“Promise Me!”

The urgency in their voice was undeniable as more tears leaked over their cheeks.

There was a defeated sigh as he smiled with a distinct sadness in his eyes.

“I… I Promise… Oh, Harlock… Darling…”

He held them close to his chest again, nose in their hair as he cuddled them tightly, feeling them sniff and sob into his chest.

“Love, I’m so sorry… I… I told you I… I would’ve understood if you hadn’t gone but…”

“I had to. I had to see you, Juli.” They sniffed and buried their head into his chest.

“I knew what was going to happen… What I was going to have to see… but I still went to see you. Took everything in me not to call your name and weep until they called the madness off but…”

He shushed and cooed to them as they burst into tears again.

“I promise, Harlock… I promise I will never put you through anything like that again. Gods, I'm… I’m so sorry…”

“I know you are, Juli… I know it was…*sniff* It was the only way we could get answers from The Hanged Man but… Gods above, never do anything so fucking insane again! I… I can’t lose you again… I won’t! Never! I-”

More tears cut them off mid-sentence as they balled their fists into his chest. They were angry. They were in pain. They were grieving yet the one they were grieving for was currently holding them close with tears beading from his own eyes.

He’d made a reckless decision that day when he agreed to the execution.

One that had cost him far more than his healing mark.

He closed his eyes, still whispering sweet affirmations to his love as they cried in the deepest emotional pain he’d ever experienced them show. He thought he deserved hatred when they only gave him affection. He thought he was a monster for running away from his apparent crimes when in reality, the only demon was the one he’d made himself by forcing those who loved him away…

He risked his life for answers, not thinking about the effect it would have on his darling, his love, his innocent Harlock.

Gods above, he wondered if he still had the mark, would it have been at all possible to relieve his love of this burden? Take it upon himself to feel the daggers and heartbreak that were no doubt his doing by risking his life?

Never again…

“Harlock…?”

Teary eyes looked up once more, tired from crying but looking ready to weep all over again. His chest and the sheets and the pillow were already damp from the outpouring of emotion as he wiped their cheek with his thumb.

“Harlock… I promise you…”

He took one of their hands in his and placed it, palm flat, against his chest and over his heart.

A steady tha-dump thudded under his breast with a reassuring consistency.

“I promise you… As long as this heart beats, I will never, ever, put you in such a position again. I vow to never intentionally hurt you like that, nor give you any reason to hurt so terribly over such things ever… Please, Harlock… Love, forgive me… I… I never meant to hurt you like that… Gods, if I’d known…”

“You would have still done it.”

He looked to them with shocked eyes as they sniffed, shuffling closer as the sheets hugged to their forms.

“You felt like you had no choice. I had none either. I had to see you. Even if you hadn’t seen me in those last moments… I still had to see you. Nothing could have stopped me much like nothing could stop you from trying to stick your head in that noose…”

“Harlock…”

“We’re both as bad as each other, aren’t we?”

There was a subtle chuckle shared between them as they embraced tightly as if letting go meant losing the other forever. They lay like that until all the tears were shed and they began drifting off, together again in each other’s arms.

“I love you, Harlock…”

“I love you too, Julian.”

##  **~ FIN ~**


End file.
